History of Cravan
Pre-Organizational Cravan Mainland Cravan was originally settled by several early Anglo-Saxon tribes, who migrated from southern Continentia into the fertile plains of Cravan almost 50,000 ago. It was here that the tribes began the change from hunter-gatherer groups to more organized societies, and eventually after centuries of conflict between city states the Anglo-Saxon tribes consolidated into two kingdoms: Maticha and Condoria, the latter of which maintained only a small plot of land in the south of what is now Tillingson while Maticha maintained a large kingdom to the north consisting of parts of Meddlesworth and all of Camden. Districts were formed in Maticha, which greatly resemble the county borders which occupy the Home Countries today. Condoria, having realised at an early stage that it was surrounded on the north by Maticha and on other sides by other tribal areas, began to draw up plans for an elaborate defense of the kingdom. By AD 1347, Queen Doris I of Condoria had completely reinforced her kingdom, knowing that the century of unsteady peace between the two Cravno kingdoms on the inner rim would not last much longer. She was correct in her predictions, however did not live to see them come true, as in 1361 the Kingdom of Maticha began the long and bloody campaign of unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Doris's son, King Peter II, led the defense of his homeland from the capital of Cheltenham. Matichan armies produced an unmerciful onslaught, and a brilliantly coordinated campaign brought the downfall of the Kingdom of Condoria within six years. The Kingdom of Maticha officially united the last of the Cravno Anglo-Saxon tribes in 1368, bringing the entirety of what was to become the modern Cravanian homeland under its sphere of influence. Cantoriavan Coup Centuries passed from the establishment of the United Kingdom of Maticha, and the nation grew into a prosperous country. In 1657, a major change occured in the government of the kingdom when the Cantoriavan family, a family with great wealth and political power at the time, took power from the ruling Matichora family in a military coup, using their influence in the aristocracy of the time to usurp the throne. In one of the family's exercises of power, the kingdom was renamed Cravan, a homage to their home village of Cravenshire, now an administrative district in County Calahan. A short, relatively bloodless conflict ensued, which was quickly put down by the Imperial Guardsmen who had sworn loyalty to the Cantoriavans during the coup. A period of stability under the Cantoriavan crown ensued for a half a century. Revolt and Organization The January Revolt occurred in 1706, after fifty years of reign under the oppressive Cantoriavan family. The commoners and aristocrats of the nation who had once had extensive freedom now had very little room to breath, and the two groups had become agitated over the years of constant autocratic rule by the Cantoriavan family and a group of what was dubbed "super aristocrats" who populated the Senate. On January 15, 1706, the situation reached a boiling point when government troops slaughtered a group of shopkeepers in the Laurana marketplace who had not paid government taxes in protest. On January 28, 1706, the citizenry of Cravan took up arms against the Cantoriavans, storming the Imperial Senate building and killing the corrupt noble senators in a mass public execution. The building was set ablaze while the Senate had been in session, destroying the original Imperial Senate building. Within a week, the Imperial Palace fell, resulting in the capture of the corrupt King David VI. He was later executed for his crimes against the people, most of which were fabricated. The 28th of January has forever been known as Imperial Day, and it is celebrated yearly. Post-revolt times brought about numerous reforms, organizing Cravan into what would be the foundation of the modern state it is today. The citizenry of the nation refused to shed their long heritage as a monarchist state. Instead, the first meeting of the reformed Imperial Senate saw the establishment of an early form of Constitutional Monarchy, combining newly discovered democratic values with the age old system. Although the Imperial Family is still a fixed party based on bloodlines, they are largely powerless figureheads in the function of the Cravanian government. All power in Cravan lies with elected positions, such as the Cabinet and the Senate. The selection process for a new monarch to be installed was long and complicated, however in the fourth session of the reformed Imperial Senate a consensus was made. Sir John Craven, a major figure after the revolution thanks to his participation in the storming of the Senate and Palace, was chosen as the first monarch of the reformed Cravan. He played a crucial role as a tactician for the rebels, and held a high rank in the newly formed government and sat on the central council of the reformed Senate. Upon this consensus, Craven accepted the position. Craven had been chosen for several reasons, both out of respect for his military skill and in that he was also a member of the Craven family, the ruling family of Cravenshire which Cravan had been named after by the previous dynasty. Craven was coronated the first monarch of the Greater Continentian Kingdom as King John I. Building of the Cravanian Empire Upon the official organization of the nation, the government of the Greater Continentian Kingdom set to work in dictating the policies which would forever shape the infant nation. Immediately it was ordered that the newly established Imperial Navy would begin the daunting task of mapping and exploring the entirety of Continentia and, by and large, the world. In 1708, two expeditions set out from the port of Gracemeria to better establish relations with nations both known and unknown. Among the stops were Willink, with whom the Kingdom had enjoyed cordial relations beforehand, as well as Questers. In particular, however, diplomatic contact was made with two foreign kingdoms of fairly considerable power. The Kingdom of Sapin in the south and the Kingdom of Aurelias in the far north. Both were notable for their riches and natural resources, and they were also known greatly for their internal instability. Sapin was internally unstable due to political unrest and a situation not unlike that of Cantoriavan Cravan. Aurelias, on the other hand, was a kingdom of several Nordic and Celtic tribes, the Celts being the dominant of the two ethnic groups, which continually vied for control of the country and the crown of Aurelias. Both nations were selected as prime targets for the kingdom's transition to empire. In June of 1709, a large armada which had been under construction for the Imperial Navy left port with a large number of Imperial troops, under orders to institute a state of martial law in Sapin to institute a state of martial law and bring stability. Cravan, citing the cassus belli as "internal instability and a lack of definitive government", set to work at bringing Sapin into its sphere of influence. The Sapinians, lacking a proper defense, fell soon afterwards, their kingdom being incorporated into Cravan. On September 19th, 1709, King John I announced himself as Emperor and declared the Greater Continentian Kingdom be further referred to as the Greater Continentian Empire. The campaign for Aurelias went equally as well, however the colder weather did serve as a sort of setback to the expedition. Imperial troops managed to capture the entirety of the unstable kingdom, however, and in 1710 Aurelias was named a country of the Greater Continentian Empire. Throughout the rest of the 18th century, the Greater Continentian Empire continued to prosper with the two kingdoms under its sphere of influence and held tightly. Despite their hostile takeover, resistance was light and eventually completely disapated thanks to the Empire providing Sapin and Aurelias with much more than what they had been capable of having on their own years before. Pacified completely, the two were assimilated seamlessly into the Empire. In the mid 1800's, Zukariaan explorer Samuel Arterus discovered the lands which now bear his name, and news of said discovery spread fast. A Cravanian expedition set out in August of 1854, claiming a large portion of islands which connected the northernmost landmass with a central landmass in the Arterusian region. The expedition founded Cortenshire, which gained status as a constituent country six years later, upgraded from the status of overseas territory. Cravanian Growth through the Modern Age Throughout the following decades Cravan would expand its influence and build itself on the world stage in an era of peace in Continentia. The Cravanian economy skyrocketed upwards in this era with the industrialization of the nation, bringing new opportunities to the people of the Empire. Throughout the 1940's and onwards Cravanian industry boomed, edging its way into the information technology market which grew during this time period and now dominates the domestic Cravanian markets. New developments in technological fields are greatly influenced by Cravanian involvement, who at the time helped spearhead research in several new industries and technologies. In 1992, the Empire was involved in the founding of the Global Alliance of Sovereign Nations, a supra-national alliance organization which enrolled over thirty nations at its peak. The GASN brought the Empire closer to its currently closest allies, Illior and Aequatio, as well as exposing it to numerous other ideologies and expanding its influence further with the world outside of Continentia. The GASN was involved in numerous actions and endeavours, most of which ended either peacefully or beneficially for the Empire. The GASN was dissolved in 2007. On the international stage recently, Cravan joined NATO, an alliance organization notable throughout the world for its immense influence and affiliation with Gholgoth. Cravan was involved in the Five Day War, primarily in a stand off against Northford and limited naval deployment to the Strobovian Strait in Haven. Category:History of Cravan